K98.5 Billboard

[PleasetoShore]

hey, i'm not a big fan of the music, and don't think it's a performer in monmouth/ocean... but i loved their new billboard that i saw today. the one "welcoming capt. jack to mornings", with his pic "pushing through" the copy. caught my eye. nice work by whomever.

 

[krichardson]

Yes! KUDOS to Capt Jack, the host of the coast; the boss of the beach and the prince of the pennisula!

 

[SoulCrusher]

No doubt, Press knows how to advertise. Give them that much. Personally, if this doesn't result in the ratings boost the station needs, I think it's time to try something different. Might I suggest Smooth Jazz, Adult Standards (different enough to avoid cannibalizing The Breeze) or Active Rock (different enough to avoid eroding G Rock's audience). If they wanted to try Country in a spot where it might actually work, I would suggest a signal either 50 miles north or west of here, a good deal further away from the well established Cat Country that it overlaps with - there's more of a Country audience right there. In Ocean County, they're better off targeting the retirees or the thirtysomethings that are coming to the area in droves.

 

[K-Tel]

Totally wrong, SoulCrusher. It's the perfect format for the signal. Smooth Jazz on that stick? No. Smooth Jazz doesn't have the staying power for that part of Mon-Oc. Remember WOJZ 104.9 with that booming signal that hit into Monmouth County, Ocean, Atlantic, parts Pennsylvania, etc. It's gone. Smooth Jazz for Atlantic City was tried before as well. Not there as well.

Face it, the station was originally set up as a simulcaster. Country is the way to go. They just need to stay focused.

 

[SS396]

I agree. Totally wrong. Active rock? Why would you have two of your stations serving the same audience in the same place? Smooth Jazz in Ocean County? Less mass appeal than Country. The idea is to get ratings and revenue...I do agree that if the signal hit Monmouth/Middlesex better they would get a big boost. Then again they would rub up against the Breeze there. Big female audience for Country.

 

[JerseyShor]

If they wanted to try Country in a spot where it might actually work, I would suggest a signal either 50 miles north or west of here, a good deal further away from the well established Cat Country that it overlaps with - there's more of a Country audience right there.

Nobody on this board is going to believe that WPUR is listenable anywhere in Ocean County... (As I look out my 2nd floor window here in Ocean COunty where I can SEE the Taj Mahal - WPUR's TX site)

 

[K-Tel]

Of course you can hear WPUR, but Press wants to take a piece of their pie. Why let them be the only ones to get the numbers and dollars there. Press saw a hole and took it.

 

[SoulCrusher]

I agree. Totally wrong. Active rock? Why would you have two of your stations serving the same audience in the same place? Smooth Jazz in Ocean County? Less mass appeal than Country. The idea is to get ratings and revenue...I do agree that if the signal hit Monmouth/Middlesex better they would get a big boost. Then again they would rub up against the Breeze there. Big female audience for Country.

Well, an Active Rocker would be a decidedly more Male oriented station. G Rock does seem to have become more all-inclusive and this would have worked better when G Rock was all about Nickelback, 3 Doors Down and Lifehouse, but this is still a viable option. While WCHR is playing nothing but classic rock moldy oldies and WRAT is the very epitome of chicken rock (combine the most predictable rock titles of the past four decades with Nickelback, Hinder, Daughtry and their ilk and you've got The Rat - it's that simple), 98.5 could be home to an edgier mix of rock that absolutely no one else is playing in this growing market. They could focus on acts from the '90s and today, reaching back to the past for a few acts (Ozzy & Sabbath, Judas Priest, Metallica, etc.) and have a very different morning show from G Rock, either syndicated or local. Just an idea. Admittedly, it would be a bit of a risk considering that they might cannibalize G Rock somewhat. But then again, so is programming a format that already can be heard in most of your coverage area, and thus far it doesn't seem to be working. For the record, I can get WPUR loud and clear in Toms River, and I would imagine it serves several boroughs north of here just fine.

I would probably lean more toward the first two options anyway. This is a market with a high population of seniors and both formats would definitely serve them well. The small signal is ideal for a niche format anyway, and it would be one that can't be heard in most other places. Smooth Jazz might be a slight gamble (I sometimes listen to WQCD in NYC and it's often closer to an AC than a proper Smooth Jazz station in terms of sound and execution), but Adult Standards would work because we're talking about Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole on one hand and Rod Stewart and Celine Dion on the other - the risk of eroding The Breeze's audience is minimal. There is the question of advertising to this demo, but I would imagine it would do at least as well as K 98.5 does in its current state.

 

[Beejus]

[EDIT]

I live way outside of the area, so I have no clue of what the billboard looks like. Does anyone have a picture of it or is it online anywhere?


[EDIT-inflammatory]

 

[SS396]

Deliver the demos and you take home the dollars. No one wants to try and sell a Standards format or Smooth Jazz. Country is an active demo that lands in the advertiser's key age ranges. It's a narrow slice but a loyal one. In the age of corporate ownership they would never waste time in a short ownership run on piece meal formats that won't sell. That's the way the cookie cutter sells.